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Per capita, Irish consumption of tea is amongst the highest in the world. The Irish prefer a full bodied cup of tea that if brewed long enough one could almost stand their spoon upright. The strength is achieved by buying the best teas available from seasonal production periods in Assam and Kenya. This means that the Assam teas are from the second flush period during June, and the Kenyas are from February and August growth. 2nd flush Assams give a deep malty astringency and the best make your mouth feel dry they are so astringent. This astringency leads to a malty character that is almost so thick you feel like you could chew it.
The seasonal Kenyas have a golden coppery color with an almost floral note that give a complex depth to the tea. Furthermore, you will see that the grade is CTC - cut, torn curled. The green leaf whilst it is being processed passes through a machine the cuts, tears and then curls the leaves into tiny balls. This 'mash' ferments very quickly after which firing takes place to 'lock-in' the flavor. These tiny tea balls when infused release their full flavor, more so than whole leaf tea. The reason is that there is more surface area on the tiny balls which can infuse as compared to the whole leaf tea. This is how the Irish like their tea!
Regarding the addition of milk, there is the age old argument of when to add the milk to the cup -before you add the tea or after. Milk-firsters argue that adding milk last scalds the milk noticeably and therefore the milk should be warmed slowly with the addition of tea. Milk-lasters argue that adding milk after the tea has been poured is the only way of judging the proper amount of milk to add by watching the color of the tea change. Non users of milk regard the whole issue as silly.
Ingredients: Black tea from India, Kenya
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